Brenda Mahelona (_fathomless) wrote, @ 2030-03-28 12:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | #ooc, #profile |
for so long I've been in this storm overwhelmed by the ocean's shapeless form |
NAME: Brenda Joy Mahelona AGE: 29 DOB: June 21 BLOOD TYPE: AB- Fae and Angelic Blooded |
RACE: Water Elemental LEVEL: 7, mastery. FAMILIAR: A nene named Keanu. |
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Her sister says they’re made up of many awesome flavors, whereas Brenda tends to counter that (playfully, of course) with the word ‘mutt’ to described their varied roots. Hawaiian on both sides, she gets some added Irish and Japanese from her dad. Though her hair is naturally dark, she takes a page from her twin’s book and dyes her hair blonde (though she often has dark roots showing); she has olive skin, usually tanned from copious amounts of time spent outdoors, with high cheekbones and bright green-hazel eyes. She’s tall, 5’9” while barefoot, and slim, with an athletic build. Like her twin, her clothing tends to range towards the surfer-casual or bohemian styles, though she is, of course, always dressed in scrubs for work. She likes to wear a flower behind one ear when she can find them, and her strong resistance to cold means she’s almost always got a swimsuit on under her clothes, except in the dead of winter. |
PERSONALITY: What’s true for rivers is true for Brenda - still waters run deep. Though definitely the quieter twin with a tendency to fade into the background when Ruthie gets rambunctious, Brenda’s certainly not to be dismissed so easily. For one, she’s highly intelligent with a gift for observation - both her surroundings and when it comes to people. Brenda doesn’t miss much, and has a knack for understanding what makes people tick - why they act the way they do, underlying motivations. It’s a good trick for when she’s working; she’s exceptionally good at calming scared, sick children and what’s more, doing so is deeply fulfilling for her. Brenda’s sense of humor is right in line with Ruthie’s; they’re both silly and a little off the path, though Brenda again tends to be a little more subtle and dry than Ruthie. Brenda loves to laugh, and Ruthie always knows exactly how to get her there. The twins complement each other; they cheer each other up, support each other. Ruthie, though only older by minutes, was always Brenda’s protector, and Brenda in turn is Ruthie’s rock, steady when her sister would fly all over the place. Brenda can see and explain people’s motivations to Ruthie, and is perhaps the only one who has a chance of talking her sister out of her dangerous ruthless moods - they scare Brenda, who’s afraid that Ruthie might one day take things irreparably far and she won’t be there to help. Brenda is very strongly family-oriented, protective of their well-being, and it’s her life’s passion to help and heal others. She’s deeply compassionate, generous and empathetic, always ready with an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on for friends and family alike. Though quieter, she’s still social and loves to spend time with friends - being around people she loves is energizing for her. She’s something of a daydreamer in her free time, with a flair for the arts - she’s got a talent for music and can often be found volunteering some time outside her shifts playing guitar and singing for the kids in the hospital. She’s very sensitive - she’s easily hurt by harsh words or teasing, and cries readily at sad movies, when she’s fighting (which is rare; she hates fighting with others and crying while trying to make a point in a fight is just embarrassing, which makes her cry more.) Though she’s terrible at hiding her feelings even when she’s trying, she doesn’t like to share them (except when Ruthie gets it out of her) and can be secretive when it comes to talking about herself and thereby making herself vulnerable. She’s prone to fits of moodiness when stress builds, especially if she’s had a bad run at work. Helping sick children get healthy again is a rewarding career, but not everyone can be saved and losing a patient is always depressing. And though she tends to take others’ words about her to heart, her parents raised her to be her own person, to answer to her own feelings and moral code rather than society’s expectations. It’s very hard for Brenda to get angry - it happens rarely. But when it does, she can be as frightening as her twin... just in a different way. Where Ruthie tends to be more physical in her retaliation, Brenda deals with the mind. When she’s well and truly angry, she’ll throw a total drama queen fit - swearing, shouting, throwing things, probably some crying too. It’s so out of character for her that it takes the subject of her wrath entirely by storm, and they’re usually so glad by the time she’s done that they think it’s over. But it’s really just the beginning. Brenda knows how to pull the strings behind the scenes, waging mental war until she feels the score’s been settled. SEXUALITY: Like her twin, Brenda believes that love is love. If you’re lucky enough to find it, it doesn’t matter what parts they have. |
HISTORY: Brenda’s a summer baby, born in June just minutes after her twin sister, Ruthie Jean, the second oldest of what would eventually be four children born to Foster and Kaiea Mahelona. Foster, a genealogist of mixed descent, and Kaiea, a housewife who taught swimming lessons on the weekends, were delighted by the two healthy, beautiful baby girls and were enthusiastic, loving parents. Ruthie and Brenda had a happy childhood (and honestly, Brenda maintains that it’s probably hard to have a bad childhood when you’re living on a beach in Hawaii, but that’s just her); they had no idea that there might be anything ‘different’ about their family. Foster and Kaiea, however, were just waiting - they knew there was a high chance of something unusual, and it was surely only a matter of time before it would manifest in one of the girls. And manifest it did - Brenda was the first to show signs of elementalism, and that likely only because of her habit of pulling off her floaties when her parents weren’t looking and sinking to the ocean floor for minutes at a time to look for seashells. Once they had Brenda pegged as a water elemental, however, Ruthie’s earth affinity wasn’t hard to spot. The Mahelonas weren’t bothered or surprised - they merely took their daughters aside to explain what they probably were, the importance of keeping it secret, and the dos and don’ts of their unique situation. The twins weren’t especially bothered; though neither parent was an elemental themselves and could thus offer little help beyond ‘practice, you might be able to do big things one day’, both the girls weren’t afraid of a little trial and error. Life progressed much the way it had before they’d had The Talk; the girls felt out the abilities and limitations of their gifts, and along the way gained a little brother, Griffin Joshua, and a baby sister, Thira Naomi. When both Griff and Thira began showing signs of elementalism - air and fire, respectively - Kaiea called it quits on babymaking. The family had a full set and she didn’t want to upset the balance. What was more important, however, was Kaiea’s decision to tell the girls of the secret she’d been holding back, the part of her past that had led to her children’s gifts. The twins were twelve when Kaiea sat them down to explain that she hadn’t been born human - she’d been a water creature called an ondine, and had only become human when she’d chosen to marry their father and have the twins. This was something of a shock to the twins’ systems, but their mother patiently explained everything she could, from the time she’d spent living with a pod of merfolk (which was another surprise!) through to when she’d met and fell in love with Foster. The girls then learned that they had an aunt - that their mother’s sister, Moana, had been enraged by Kaiea’s love of a human, and that the wedding and pregnancy had been the last straw. She’d fled the pod in a fit of jealousy, swearing to get as far from Kaiea as she could. The last Kaiea had heard, she was somewhere in one of the great lakes. It was almost information overload for Brenda, but certainly explained a few things - her elementalism, for one, and the extra pull towards the water she felt beyond what she could attribute to her gift. It certainly made learning her element much easier than her siblings’ exploration with their own elements, but it also meant that water was an especially jealous mistress when it came to anything Brenda did that wasn’t with her. Brenda and Ruthie shared the same idea that ultimately, it didn’t really matter about what else was out there - some might have lived their lives in fear or suspicion, but if anything, her mother’s story only illustrated the idea that people were people - no matter what else they might be. So very little changed, and when Griffin and Thira were old enough, they, too accepted their mother’s story with as much grace as could be expected. The Mahelonas were a tight-knit family; though Brenda was and always would be closest to her sister Ruthie, she got on well with her other siblings as well. She got on a little better with Griff, their elements being more complementary than with her fiery sister Thira. She loves Thira, of course - but she’s not a huge fan of the fire or the temper. Their parents were patient with the squabbling - it was more or less normal for any family, and given their childrens’ opposing elements, it likely could’ve been a lot worse. But Ruthie was always Brenda’s other half - the girls never really outgrew that clingy twin phase. Sure, they’ve got their distinctive personalities, but they never minded being mistaken for the other. They experimented a bit with different styles in high school, but the fact is that they just naturally have very similar tastes when it comes to fashion and hobbies. Because of that, then usually ran with the same crowds - if you take one twin, you’d better be prepared to take the other. They didn’t ever really feel the need to establish themselves apart from the other. In an effort to help their children, Foster and Kaiea did what they could to gather information on elementalism in all its flavors. They learned that Ruthie would likely be predisposed towards the medical field, and began buying her toys in that line - Nurse Barbie, a doctor’s bag playset, etc. - all of which promptly became Brenda’s (whether or not Ruthie wanted them, so thankfully she wasn’t interested.) It didn’t take long after getting that first toy stethoscope for Brenda to announce she was going to be ‘a baby nurse’, and even after learning the correct term for it - pediatric nurse - the plan stayed the same, and she worked hard in school for the kind of grades and education she’d need to accomplish her goals. Though both the girls went to college, Brenda was the only one who made it past the first semester. It didn’t bother her - Ruthie was free to do what she wanted, and the simple fact was that college wasn’t for everyone, and it was smart of Ruthie to take time and figure out what she wanted to do before seeing if higher education was even necessary. Though she missed her sister’s presence on campus, she absolutely adored going to classes and learning new things. She did well in school, focused on her goals as she had been since she was a kid, but suffered a small setback her sophomore year by the name of Brian. Though she’d dated a little bit in high school and her freshman year, it hadn’t ever gotten any kind of serious - lots of second or third dates, but no one she really connected with. Until Brian, who was smart and funny and romantic. They got seriously fairly quickly, and were eventually intimate - Brenda’s first. Eventually, Brenda grew tired of hiding part of who she was from him and knew she had to share if she ever wanted to be able to be truly honest with him. So one day, Brenda took Brian on a hike to one of her favorite small waterfalls, one only she knew about, and told him what she was. Brian didn’t believe her, of course, but had no choice when she took him swimming and gave him a demonstration of what she was able to do. Unfortunately, it was too much for him to handle and he freaked out, calling her all sorts of names. Brenda couldn’t handle the onslaught; she used her ability to push him away from her as she fled to the shore. What she didn’t realize, however, was that Brian had gotten caught under the pounding waterfall and couldn’t surface. He was only under a minute or so before she realized and hurried to get him out, and though he wasn’t seriously hurt, he was now furious with and terrified of Brenda. Though he couldn’t tell anyone what she was (because who’d believe him?) he could and did avoid her like the plague. Brenda was horrified at what had almost happened; she doubled the work she was putting into honing her gift, determined never to let an accident like that happen again. Heartbroken, she also swore off dating and instead put all her focus on her school work and her family. Though she hasn’t been on a date in almost ten years, she graduated college at the top of her class, easily passed her nursing certification, and was given great job offer to work at the best hospital on the island. It was there that she applied for and was granted a 2-year internship as a pediatric nurse at the same time she applied for and was accepted into a master’s program that offered a pediatric specialty. By the time she was 24, she had her master’s degree and had passed certifications for registered nursing; she signed up for and subsequently passed her certification with the pediatric nursing certification board at 25, after she’d obtained the requisite number of hours working as a pediatric nurse. From there, life settled into something of a routine - she found her job fulfilling, at times depressing, and did whatever she could to grow her knowledge of the field, working in as many different sub-specialties as she could. In her spare time, she spent time with family and friends, partying occasionally, surfing and communing with her element. |
AFTER THE LIGHT OF MAY: Though Brenda had long known of the existence of other species (hello, ondines, merfolk, elementals), the breadth and depth of the supernatural world was something of a surprise. She didn’t necessarily feel the same relief as Ruthie did, being better suited to keeping secrets (especially after Brian, if she hadn’t already been predisposed not to talk about her feelings), but it was nice to have a bunch of others break the ice so that her confession wouldn’t necessarily come as a huge surprise should she share it with anyone. She gradually became more open with her ability in the weeks immediately following the reveal until now, when she doesn’t feel a need to hide it at all. Shortly after the twins got their familiars (Brenda’s was a nene named Keanu), Brenda came to a decision - she’d always felt some underlying guilt that her and Ruthie’s birth had been what had driven their aunt away; family being so important to Brenda, she hated to know there was a now-29 year old divide between the sisters. She got it into her head to try and track down their aunt - both because she wanted to know her as family but also to try and help mend the rift between Moana and Kaiea. Brenda knew she was close to mastering her element, and felt that she had the best chance of everyone at finding their aunt if she would just go out there and try. She wanted to put in for a transfer to the hospital to the University of Michigan to work in their pediatric oncology ward, the specialty she’d been developing an attachment to for months. Ruthie didn’t debate long, eventually deciding to come with her, and Brenda was deeply grateful to know she wouldn’t have to go it alone. The girls moved to Scarlet Oak in early August, shortly before Brenda achieved mastery over her element. Ruthie’s mastery followed very shortly after. |
SPECIAL SKILLS: Speaks Hawaiian, is a rad surfer (imagine her surprise to learn that you can, in fact, surf on the lakes. the waves are crap compared to Hawaii and they’re pretty unpredictable, but at least she can get SOME kind of fix), plays guitar, ukelele, piano, and sings. WEAKNESSES: Elemental: Though her genetics give her a bit of protection, Brenda has to be careful when she’s outside - she burns easily without heavy sunscreen and sometimes a hat, and can get severely dehydrated extremely easily. She has to make sure she gets at least two liters a day or she’ll get sick. She’s also susceptible to sunstroke/heat exhaustion, and usually carries around a bottle of water and sunscreen at all times just in case. She’s also usually got at least two hats in her car at any given time. Sensitive: Though she has the capacity to be sort of scary, it’s extremely rare and most of the time, Brenda’s just exceptionally sensitive. Harsh words, even if meant without malice, affect her deeply as she takes things very much to heart. She cries when she’s happy, cries when she’s sad, and good Lord don’t let her get near Nicholas Sparks books. Though her empathy can be a great strength in her career, at any other time it’s more frequently a downfall, especially if Ruthie isn’t around to draw focus away. Allergy: Brenda's severely allergic to eggs; she can't even eat anything out of a pan that had eggs cooked in it if it hasn't been scrubbed thoroughly with a very strong cleanser. It means has to be careful when eating breakfast out; eating food that's been cooked in the same pan as eggs gives her a scratchy throat and wheezing, as well as making her skin itch. If she gets egg on herself, she'll break out in hives whenever it touched, and eating the a few bites of an egg or something with lots of egg in it will send her to the hospital. She carries an epinephrine autoinjector on her at all times, though she's always careful to ask about ingredients when given food. The worst part of this? No cake. :'( Unless it's made with an egg substitute (NOT egg whites) or vegan - but those totally aren't as good. Jealous Element: Brenda’s siblings have problems with their elements being jealous of their bond with water. Brenda’s extra bond with water makes Water even more jealous should she spend any time away. Brenda has to make sure to put in some solid communion time daily lest she piss off water for even daring to live on land when she’d clearly be fine making a house in an underwater cave somewhere. The flights from Hawaii to Michigan? Left her soothing a pissy Water for days. Moody: Though generally optimistic, Brenda goes through periods where she’s hard-hit by fits of bleakness and depression, usually triggered by losing a patient, excessive stress, or fights with people she cares about or respects. She also tends to shut down during these periods, with an aversion to sharing her thoughts or emotions even if it helps her to work things through. She can get rather secretive and play things close to the vest (or so she thinks; really anyone with half a talent for observation can usually divine how she’s feeling, but good luck trying to drag it out of her.) STRENGTHS: Compassionate: Brenda’s got a heart the size of a football field with the will and desire to do as much good as she can. It’s why you’ll frequently see her going back to the hospital on days off or after shifts to sit with the kids, playing music and singing, volunteering at various events and organizations around town, and generally being available to any friends or loved ones who might need her. Caring for others is rewarding and energizing for her, and she’s a downright Energizer Bunny when it comes to juggling her various philanthropic endeavors. |
FAMILY: Parents: Foster and Kaiea. Siblings: Ruthie (twin, earth elemental, 29), Griff (air elemental, early/mid 20s), Thira (fire elemental, 18). LIVING CONDITIONS: A rental house she shares with Ruthie and their familiars. CAREER: Pediatric oncology nurse at the University of Michigan hospital. PB: Sanoe Lake |